As the Masters Golf Tournament officially tees off, researchers at Northeastern University have found that over the years, scores have declined and competition dramatically increased at the venerable competition, one of golf’s four major tournaments. Thus, say the researchers golf, like other sports, has shown dramatic improvement in the quality of play over an extended period of time.
Frederick Wiseman, professor of marketing, and Sangit Chatterjee, professor of management science, both at Northeastern’s College of Business Administration, co-authored "Studying Improved Performance in Golf" (October 2001) which is slated for publication in the Journal of Applied Statistics later this year.
The authors investigated the nature and extent of improved performance by golfers in the Masters by analyzing the scores of the top 40 players in each tournament since its inception in 1934 through 2001. The tournament has been played continuously from 1934 on the same course -- Augusta National -- except for the three war years, 1943-1945) In the study’s analysis, Wiseman and Chatterjee indicate that the average score for the top 40 players in the tournament has declined by approximately ten strokes since the mid 1930s and that this decline has been continuous over the years.
"In the 1990s, we observed a falling curve that levels off," says Wiseman. "But, the spread of the scores among the top 40 players has decreased faster than the mean has decreased. This signifies rapid improvement and increased competition throughout the history of the tournament."
Another conclusion of the study is that Tiger Wood’s level of dominance in 1997 when he broke the course record was comparable to Jack Nickalus’s level of dominance in 1965 when he broke the previous course record, explains Chatterjee. In 1965 Nicklaus shot a record 271 and won by 9 strokes, in 1976 Raymond Floyd tied Nicklaus’s record of 271 and won by 8 strokes and in 1997 Woods set a new record of 270 and won the tournament by 18 strokes.
Reasons for the major improvement in golf are due to a variety of factors, the researchers say, including changes in technology, increased popularity, an increased emphasis on instruction and education, and an increasingly scientific attitude towards the game.